Cichlid fish from a tiny volcanic crater lake in Africa have been caught in the act of sympatric speciation, whereby a new species evolves when there is no geographic barrier to physically separate the new species from the old. The study, led by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and co-authored by the University of Bristol, is published today in Science.

Cichlid fish from a tiny volcanic crater lake in Africa have been caught in the act of sympatric speciation, whereby a new species evolves when there is no geographic barrier to physically separate the new species from the old. The study, led by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and co-authored by the University of Bristol, is published today in Science.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-12-darwin-puddle-species-emerge-geographic.html#jCp

New species of ‘sail-backed’ dinosaur, found in Spain

Named Morelladon beltrani, it was a medium-sized styracosternan ornithopod of around 6 meters long and 2.5 meters high.

Scientists have discovered a new species of unusual ‘sail—backed’ dinosaur in Spain which inhabited the Iberian landmass about 125 million years ago.

Researchers from National University of Distance Education (UNED) in Spain described the species as Morelladon beltrani.

The specimen is a partial skeleton mainly composed of dorsal and sacral vertebrae and pelvic bones, researchers said.

Medium-sized styracosternan ornithopod

Morelladon is a medium-sized styracosternan ornithopod of around 6 meters long and 2.5 meters high, similar in body length and proportions to its relative Mantellisaurus atherfieldensis.

The most conspicuous feature of this new, relatively gracile ornithopod is the presence of tall neural spines on dorsal vertebrae, which the researchers suggest was possibly a ’sail’ used for -READ MORE-http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/new-species-of-sailbacked-dinosaur-found-in-spain/article8000283.ece

A gene for new species is discovered

SALT LAKE CITY, Dec. 17, 2015 - A University of Utah-led study identified a long-sought "hybrid inviability gene" responsible for dead or infertile offspring when two species of fruit flies mate with each other. The discovery sheds light on the genetic and molecular process leading to formation of new species, and may provide clues to how cancer develops. "We knew for decades that something like this gene ought to exist, and our approach finally allowed us to identify it," says biologist Nitin Phadnis, principal author of the study published today in the journal Science. The definition of a species is that it cannot breed successfully with another species, so "to understand speciation is to understand how these reproductive barriers evolved,"READ MORE -http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-12/uou-agf121115.php

Ancient flightless bird fossil found on B.C. beach identified as new species

A family out for a stroll on southern Vancouver Island stumbled upon the extraordinary fossilized remains of a 25-million-year-old flightless bird that has created a flap in the world of paleontology.

The fossil was in good enough condition for researchers to identify the animal as a new species of a plotopterid, a long-extinct penguin or cormorant-like bird never before found in Canada.

A collarbone from the bird was found inside a slab of rock on a Sooke, B.C., beach.

• 'Oldest bird tracks in world' found in B.C.

It's only the second set of fossilized bird bones found on southern Vancouver Island since 1895, said bird expert Gary Kaiser of the Royal B.C. Museum.

Fossils of birds are extremely rare because the fragile and hollow bones don't hold up to crushing weight, acidic soils and elements like other fossils do.-READ MORE -http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/fossil-bird-bc-1.3367313

New species of human may have shared our caves – and beds

As fire light flickered on the back of the cave, a group of people ate deer, porcupine and otter. Then a man solemnly took a large bone off the fire, broke it in half and sucked the bone marrow out. He then carefully painted the broken bone with red clay and buried it in the cave.

He observed this ritual because this bone belonged to another human species. One they shared not only the forest with, but also their beds.

This is the remarkable – though so far tentative – picture emerging from controversial discoveries from two caves in south-west China. If true, some think it could overturn our understanding of what it means to be human.

Among the discoveries appears to be a primitive human species, which most closely resembles the earliest human species, Homo habilis and Homo erectus.

But while these lived about 2 million years ago, this new species lived just 14,000 years ago, says Darren Curnoe of the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, who lead the team behind the discoveries. This would make it the most recent human species to have gone extinct.

“If true, this would be rather spectacular and it would make the finds of truly global importance,” says Michael Petraglia at the University of Oxford, who wasn’t involved in the discoveries.

The work is excellent, he says, but is likely to leave many in the field unconvinced.READ MORE -https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn28687-new-species-of-human-may-have-shared-our-caves-and-beds/

Several new species of clawed frog discovered in sub-Saharan Africa

African clawed frogs are characterized by their flat bodies and vocal organs which can produce sound underwater, as well as the claws on their first three toes that give them their name. Despite being commonly used as a study subject by developmental biologists, researchers say we're still learning quite a bit about the species. Researchers from Canada's McMaster University say they’ve discovered a wealth of new information on the frog’s evolution using new techniques for analyzing DNA.There are now 29 known species of African clawed frog. Researchers in west and central sub-Saharan Africa say they’ve discovered six new species of the frog and added another, Xenopus calcaratus, back to the list of known species (it had previously been lumped in with a close relative, X. tropicalis). The word Xenopus means “alien foot” or, basically, “strange foot,” in Latin. African clawed frogs live in slow moving or stagnant water, according to a report in PLOS ONE describing the new species. The frogs are also characterized by their flat bodies and vocal organs which can -READ MORE -http://news.mongabay.com/2015/12/several-new-species-of-clawed-frog-discovered-in-sub-saharan-africa/

Seismology of elephants investigated

Could putting vibrations into the ground be a way to keep elephants from coming into conflict with humans?

Already, attempts have been made to scare the animals away from villages using their own very low-frequency alarm calls - with partial success.

Now scientists are studying whether even better results could be obtained if this sound in the air is accompanied also by a seismic signal underfoot.

The work is being led by Prof Sue Webb from Wits University in Johannesburg.

The ultimate goal she said was to try to find a means of keeping everyone safe - both humans and elephants.

"Elephants can be incredibly destructive, especially with people's farmlands," she told BBC News.

"They come on to the farmland and they eat the crops and they push over the houses, and even kill people sometimes.

"So this is a huge problem in some rural parts of Africa and the issue is to try to find a way to keep the elephants out of human areas."

Prof Webb was speaking at the Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union - the world's largest annual gathering of Earth scientists.-READ MORE AND SEE VIDEO ON BBC LINK-http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-35129175